The iconic excerpt from the introduction to the 1960s cult TV show “Star Trek,” said so much to so many. The U.S. was on the verge of landing a person on the moon beating out our arch enemies, the Soviet Union. And more importantly, it was our first terrestrial adventure outside Earth. We were embarking on a path that would physically separate our species from all others…stepping us into the vastness of space. How exciting!!

However,

as much as this adventure seems provocative and inevitable, not everyone shares this excitement. Per Debate.org, as many as 55% of those surveyed said “no” when asked, “Is Space Exploration good?” Per Debatewise.org, 51% said no to space exploration. Their disapproval ranged from “solving earthly problems” to “little benefit” to “excessive cost.” In general, a waste of time and money.

And it’s not as if the naysayers don’t have a point.

More than one billion people live in extreme poverty. 750 million do not have access to clean water. Climate change appears to be a real problem. Preventable diseasestake 2 million children a year. And one-fifth of all humans live without electricity. In addition, the U.S. and other nations are trillions of dollars in debt, and the number of deadly conflicts increased substantially over the last 50 years. Not to mention our ongoing problem with global terrorism.

With all these challenges it begs the question, why do something as frivolous as exploring space?

The source CNN article below joyfully quotes a gleeful Nancy Pelosi, “Today’s a great day for our country,” adding later, “It’s pretty exciting for us.” Do CNN and Pelosi really mean what they write or say in response to the Republicans pulling the health care bill? Likewise, congressional comments and carefully crafted titles like this one from CNN also confuse us, “victory”…whose victory, certainly not the American people.

How is this “a great day” and a “victory” when we are that much further from fixing an imploding health care system? And more confusing is who was Pelosi speaking for?

The U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Preet Bharara was recently removed from his position by President Trump. Mr. Bharara’s removal as a federal prosecutor (the top federal prosecutor in the state) is part of a new administration’s political purge. The last three Administrations have similarly removed federal prosecutors from district courts, with Janet Reno (U.S. Attorney General for President Clinton) eliminating all 93 district attorney’s in one day.

What makes this one different is that Mr. Bharara did not traditionally step down or resign, he was fired. The purge of political appointees usually goes unnoticed, but a defiant Bharara brought attention to his plight…and more. His choice of stepping down v. firing is no small matter. Especially in a highly contemptuous relationship between the White House, Democrats, and mainstream media. And as expected, both were quick to condemn the firing.

But was their condemnation fair and did it address the real problem; Poltical appointees and Mr. Bharara’s sense or misunderstanding of “duty?”

Radical Islamic terrorism is an ideology. It is a belief in an idea. And it is an identity to that idea. By adding the label “Radical Islamic” to terrorism, we change the way we think of it, how we fight it and more importantly who is responsible. Radical Islam is not new and over the centuries prompted everything from military campaigns (Crusades, Ottomans, etc.) to insurgencies (Algiers, Iraq, etc.), to today’s terrorism (Paris, Brussels, San Bernardino, etc.). And with the creation of radical groups like Al Queda and the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), its popularity is rising and its reach is global.

And to make matters worse, the U.S. over the last few decades has spent blood and treasure trying to defeat it with little success; no matter whose been in charge. Every time we cut off the head of this snake another one grows. It almost appears as if it is invincible. Why does it appear this way and what is the problem with defeating it?

The answer is right in front of our nose but few have the courage to see it and even fewer have the courage to tackle it.

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I have two sons at college and a daughter in high school. After recently watching a Tucker Carlson segment on colleges and their value I could not help but comment…actually, I want to add to Tucker’s excellent piece. Over the last dozen years, my wife and I have witnessed our children going through multiple schools […]